I recently discovered a plant which kills ground elder and bindweed and plan on trying it this year. If you are interested Mexican marigold or 'tagetes minuta'
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Tagetes minuta | wellywoman

On 12/05/2013 15:27, Bigal wrote:

20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?

Is it an Australian paper?

In article ,
David Hill wrote:
On 12/05/2013 15:27, Bigal wrote:

20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?

Is it an Australian paper?

Or the Daily Wail?

I have been doing this for years, with a very high success rate,
but we take the Independent. I soak the been seeds for 12-24
hours, and germinate them on damp kitchen roll in dishes covered
with cling film, and then put them straight into paper pots.
I do that for runner beans and 3-4 varieties of climbing French
beans, plus sweetcorn.

The sweetcorn did not do well this year, but I am pretty sure
that the problem was with the seed. It usually does better.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sun, 12 May 2013 16:27:27 +0200, Bigal
wrote:


20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?

Perhaps they need some Sun!

Pam in Bristol

In article ,
says...

20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?

A couple more stupid suggestions!

Did you plant the seed upside down?

Is there light getting in at the bottom of the pot?



--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

On 13/05/2013 09:57, Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
says...

20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?

A couple more stupid suggestions!

Did you plant the seed upside down?

Is there light getting in at the bottom of the pot?

This shouldn't have any effect on the roots as they are geotropic, that
is gravity directs their direction of growth, whilst the leaves are
Photropic, they grow towards light.

In article ,
David Hill wrote:
On 13/05/2013 09:57, Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
says...

20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?

A couple more stupid suggestions!

Did you plant the seed upside down?

Is there light getting in at the bottom of the pot?

This shouldn't have any effect on the roots as they are geotropic, that
is gravity directs their direction of growth, whilst the leaves are
Photropic, they grow towards light.

Interesting. Shoots through the side is fairly common, but roots
going up is not. The last couple of years have had some fairly
horrible weather, so the brassica problems could be put down to
that, but it does sound awfully like the effects of some truly
weird chemical in the newspaper.

We are, of course, all agog to know which newspaper this is :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Bigal wrote in news:Bigal.c05a582
@gardenbanter.co.uk:


20% of my runner beans didn't germinate, 10% produced twins, most of
the remainder decided to present their roots through the top of the pot
and the leaves through the side. The pots were made out of
newspaper...The beans are 'white lady'. I've not come across it
before. For two years now, using paper pots, l have found that
brassicas do not develop even after planting out. Others started in
plastic pots present no problems. l started using a different newspaper
last year and l am wondering if it was that.
Any one any ideas?


Soak all beans and peas for at least a day, then sow.
Put them in a warm place in pots made of plastic, or erm? Pot.
And stop reading duff newspapers. The roots will burst through that with
ease.

Baz

wrote:
Interesting. Shoots through the side is fairly common, but roots
going up is not. The last couple of years have had some fairly
horrible weather, so the brassica problems could be put down to
that, but it does sound awfully like the effects of some truly
weird chemical in the newspaper.

I always get one or two where they grow upside down, where the roots
are aerial, then the stalk goes down, then typically comes up again
a bit further along. I think I've had one that has done it this year
so far. I think the sweetcorn sometimes do this, too.

I don't think the weather has made any difference,, being sunny for most of the germination period. My son has found that he has also had some problems with growth of some plants in the paper pots. I must add, that I supplied him with the paper. The newspaper? The Saturday edition of the Western Mail, published in Wales. I used it because it seemed to be very slightly thicker. I suppose it could be the chemicals in the paper or the ink. A friend gives me the Saturday edition. She doesn't read it and only wants thr supplement inside.
Thanks for your comments. I shall send the newspaper to friends in Australia and see if they can get beans to grow the right way up.

wrote in message
...
wrote:
Interesting. Shoots through the side is fairly common, but roots
going up is not. The last couple of years have had some fairly
horrible weather, so the brassica problems could be put down to
that, but it does sound awfully like the effects of some truly
weird chemical in the newspaper.

I always get one or two where they grow upside down, where the roots
are aerial, then the stalk goes down, then typically comes up again
a bit further along. I think I've had one that has done it this year
so far. I think the sweetcorn sometimes do this, too.

Yep. I've had 5 sweetcorn do this recently. Never seen that before.
--
Pete C

On 13/05/2013 19:54, Pete C wrote:
wrote in message
...
wrote:
Interesting. Shoots through the side is fairly common, but roots
going up is not. The last couple of years have had some fairly
horrible weather, so the brassica problems could be put down to
that, but it does sound awfully like the effects of some truly
weird chemical in the newspaper.

I always get one or two where they grow upside down, where the roots
are aerial, then the stalk goes down, then typically comes up again
a bit further along. I think I've had one that has done it this year
so far. I think the sweetcorn sometimes do this, too.

Yep. I've had 5 sweetcorn do this recently. Never seen that before.

It's probably a delayed reaction to the Russian meteor from the other
week, it's probably been followed by a delayed gravity pulse

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 13/05/2013 19:54, Pete C wrote:
wrote in message
...
wrote:
Interesting. Shoots through the side is fairly common, but roots
going up is not. The last couple of years have had some fairly
horrible weather, so the brassica problems could be put down to
that, but it does sound awfully like the effects of some truly
weird chemical in the newspaper.

I always get one or two where they grow upside down, where the roots
are aerial, then the stalk goes down, then typically comes up again
a bit further along. I think I've had one that has done it this year
so far. I think the sweetcorn sometimes do this, too.

Yep. I've had 5 sweetcorn do this recently. Never seen that before.

It's probably a delayed reaction to the Russian meteor from the other
week, it's probably been followed by a delayed gravity pulse
Not the first signs of a magnetic pole reversal?
--
Pete C